42 



THE FLORIST. 



The Lindsceece are an elegant group, with the sori long, continuous, 

 (rarely short and broken up), placed either quite at or very near to the 

 margin of the frond, and covered by an indusium which opens along its 



?6. Vittarie^e : Vittaria zosteraefolia. §7. Likbs^ee^e : Lindsaea trapeziformis. 



outer and remains attached by its inner edge. They comprise three 

 genera : — Lindscea with free veins ; and Sckizoloma and Dicty- 

 oxiphium with reticulated veins ; the latter having simple fronds. 



The Adiantece a good deal resemble the Lindsceece, but they have a 

 very distinct structure. The chief peculiarity consists in the indusium, 

 which is turned inwards from the margin, and though looking like that 

 of Cheilanthes or Pteris, is not, as in them, a simple membrane 

 covering the sori, but the spore-cases are actually inserted on it, so 

 that if the indusium is turned up, the spore-cases are turned over with 

 it. These spore-cases are inserted in short parallel lines across the 



Adianteje: Aiiiantum Capillus veneris. g9. Cheilanthes: Hypolepis anthriscifolia. 



indusium (which is sometimes nearly round, sometimes quite linear) 

 and might perhaps be placed in the next group (2), in company with 

 the Platylomece. In this section are Adiantum, with free veins, and 

 Hewardia, with the veins reticulated. 



The Cheilanthece, as a group, come very near the Pteridece, but we 

 think they are well kept asunder, if only to facilitate the means of 

 separating some species of the typical genera, which have sometimes a 



